This is the forum for helping you out if you're stuck or if you want to discuss the nitty gritty details of the dungeons within Mount Grimrock. Warning: forum contains spoilers!
I finally found myself on level 12, which seems to be almost the end (I completely explored the cemetery) and wanted to know if there's another way of solving the puzzles there without first eliminating all the creatures. I don't think my party can handle everything that's in there.
If not, any exploits that could make the fight more manageable or even very easy?
you could more cheaply stand in the stairway, attack a couple of times and when you start dying retreat to the crystal heal/rest and retry. Rinse and repeat
You're going to want to clear lvl 12 so you don't have any problems figuring out the puzzle. If you hover around the perimeter you should be able to pull one or two enemies at a time making it manageable.